The Government will attempt to ban the sale of acids to under-18s in response to a spate of recent attacks using corrosive substances.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced a crackdown at the Conservative Party conference that will also see people prevented from carrying acid in public without "good reason".

In addition, new restrictions on chemicals will "drastically limit" the public sale of sulphuric acid due to its use in the production of "mother of Satan" - the homemade explosive believed to have been used in the Manchester Arena terror attack and the failed bomb plot at Parsons Green Tube station.

The Home Secretary also outlined her intention to prevent the online sale of knives to children; to make the possession of flick knives and zombie knives at home illegal; and to invest £600,000 in new technology to remove child pornography from the internet.

A series of high-profile incidents have highlighted the dramatic increase in assaults using acid in recent years, with more than 450 crimes in 2016 where a corrosive substance was used or threatened to be used.

"You have all seen the pictures of victims that never fully recover. Endless surgeries. Lives ruined."

Meanwhile, a £600,000 spend on Project Arachnid will see the Home Office invest in "ground-breaking technology" developed in Canada to help identify and remove images of child sexual abuse from the internet.

"We want them to start using it as soon as they can. Our question to them will be, 'If not, why not?' And I will demand very clear answers."

The Home Secretary also detailed new laws to combat the spread of terrorist and extremist propaganda on the internet.

Those who repeatedly view terrorist content online could face up to 15 years in prison, with current powers dealing with only the downloading and storing of material now extended to catch those who stream videos as well.

Lengthy jail sentences will also be introduced for those publishing information about the police or armed forces for the purposes of plotting a terror attack.

Responding to Ms Rudd's speech, Labour's shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: "More laws to combat terrorism and violent crime won't be enough on their own when the Tories are cutting police numbers and cutting budgets," she said.